Cabin Pressure Insulting
by MysticPuma
Summary: An insult to GERT-I? He could deal with that… An insult to Carolyn? Fine, she could handle herself. An insult to himself? He could deal with it. And insult to Arthur? Bearable. But an insult to Martin? That's just crossing the line. (Rated T for minor language)
1. Chapter 1

**AN: At last a new fic XD Sorry I've been so busy sorting coursework and various exam stuff I just haven't had the chance... Ah well, here we go!**

**This can be read as a Marlas (Martin/Douglas) fic if you so wish, however it is written with the mind that not all people are fans.**

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**Insulting**

_An insult to GERT-I? He could deal with that… An insult to Carolyn? Fine, she could handle herself. An insult to himself? He could deal with it. And insult to Arthur? Bearable. But an insult to Martin? That's just crossing the line._

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Gordon Shappey was arguably the most detestable man on the planet, in the humble opinion of Douglas Richardson, First Officer to MJN air. To Carolyn Knapp-Shappey, CEO he was the singular most annoying and pathetic man she'd ever met… To Arthur Shappey, Gordon and Carolyn's son, and steward, he was the only person in the world to be bad enough to not warrant the use of the word brilliant in his description.

And to Martin Crieff, Captain? He was the man that had successfully torn him down to the core of the Earth. The one man who had successfully torn him down to the point where he didn't think he could get up again… Staring into those eyes again, several months after the St. Petersburg incident, and his world had just crumbled, and hot tears burned behind his eyes. Don't cry… That's pathetic…

"You pathetic little excuse for a man. No… You ain't even that. You're a child. You're a useless waste of space! Oh, that's right. Turn on the water-works. Just prove it. Prove you're a child!" Gordon ranted, as the tears spilled from Martin's eyes. He wanted to turn and run, or be swallowed up by the ground… but he couldn't. He couldn't move, as the black smog covered his vision. No… He'd stopped that… Years ago… When he'd passed! NO! Not the thoughts… The thoughts were coming back… The smog was clouding his mind, his entire being, and he couldn't see-

"I'm sorry what?" The harsh tone snapped Martin back to reality for a moment, enough to see at least. "What did you say?" D-Douglas…?

"What do you care you overgrown glue-stick?" What? Glue stick? Really?

"What did you say about my Captain?" Douglas growled, in no mood to mock Gordon for the pathetic insult. _His_ Captain? Unfortunately, the swell of pride did not come, just a confusion. Gordon had battered him too much for the words to make a dent in the smog that was already seeping back into the corners of his vision.

"He's a snivelling wimp, and a pathetic excuse for a pilot. Do I need to repeat it again, because you're obviously old and hard of hearing." Gordon snapped. It wasn't even sarcasm. It was just cold and harsh, and the ice was freezing the smog in place. Hearing Gordon call Douglas old was heart-breaking and Martin couldn't see again. Through the tears and the icy fog that was solidifying over him, pulling him into a recess of his mind he'd never thought he'd see again, and had never wanted to.

"Say that again…" Douglas growled. "And I will make sure you're in hospital for a month."

"You just try, old man." Gordon said. Nothing happened, Douglas just stared at him, still seething. "Oh look, didn't do anything did you?"

"I didn't mean that…" he whispered dangerously. Martin couldn't muster the frown of confusion he should've though. The ice was thick and he felt as if his legs were going to buckle. He had to defend Douglas… Had to help… But he couldn't move… Couldn't breathe. DAMN IT Gordon…

"What?"

"I didn't mean me…" Douglas said, the red in his vision was getting worse at the very thought of him repeating it. "I meant Martin."

"D-Douglas?" Martin stammered. The tears couldn't melt the ice that had frozen him to the spot. But something about what Douglas was saying… what he was doing… Something made it begin to thaw.

"What?"

"I meant… What you said about my Captain." Douglas explained to Gordon slowly.

"Douglas, it's okay…" Martin whispered breathlessly, reaching his unfrozen arm towards his co-pilot. But he'd spoken so quietly it had been like a breeze of wind, flowing silently past Douglas' ear, and he was still stuck to the spot… His fingers merely brushed the fabric of Douglas' worn First Officer uniform.

"Oh, that snivelling wimp? Why do you care ab-" but he didn't get to finish his sentence, as Douglas' tightly curled fist slammed against his jaw, sending him flying and crashing to the ground with a crack that under different circumstances would have even made Douglas flinch. But given the situation, Douglas just stood there, fist still hanging in the air where it had finished its path. He was breathing heavily, but not from exhaustion. It was rage. Rage that rooted him to the spot, boring down on Gordon Shappey, who was now covered in his own blood as it gushed from his presumably broken nose. He wasn't moving, so Douglas assumed he was now unconscious… He hoped so too, the bastard deserved it.

Martin gasped. The ice shattered and he found himself shaking with fresh sobs. Not for Gordon… But the extremity of what had just happened had broken the barrier that had been just managing (with a lot of strain) to stop him crying again.

"Douglas!" came the shrill voice of one Carolyn Knapp-Shappey. Arthur was scurrying along behind her as she came over. "What the hell- oh, it's Gordon…" the way she spat his name out didn't even half cover the disdain she felt for the man.

"He pissed me off." Douglas said, finally moving to stand up-right and brush himself off.

"He pisses everyone off." Carolyn muttered.

"Mum… Why is Dad bleeding?" asked the gormless Arthur.

"Douglas got annoyed with him… And punched him in the face." Carolyn explained bluntly.

"Oh."

They all turned away from Gordon to look at Martin, who was sobbing uncontrollably.

"Martin… I'm sorry, I had to hit him." Douglas shrugged. Martin shook his head.

"I'm n-n-not u-upset bec-because… o-o-f that…"

"Is it what he said?" Douglas asked. Martin nodded, giving up on speaking after attempting (and failing quite spectacularly) to speak again.

Suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, Douglas walked over to Martin and folded his arms around him. Martin sank limply into the warm embrace and the sobs only grew louder as Douglas stroked his hair gently.

"Shhh… It's okay."

"B-but he… He's right…" Martin sniffled.

"No, he isn't." Douglas said firmly, holding Martin at arms length, in order to look him in the eyes. "You are not pathetic, you are not snivelling… You have every right to cry." The sincerity in his voice was shocking to them all, and all Carolyn and Arthur could do was watch the scene unfold in front of them. A scene they had never believed they would see… Douglas being nice to Martin.

"But-"

"No, Martin… I may say your obnoxious and annoying but I never really mean it. It's only a joke. You aren't those things."

"But why did you-"

"Because he wasn't joking. He was serious. He was saying those things to hurt you… And I- well… I didn't like that. Basically." He explained. Martin was speechless. He just stared at his Fir-friend… his friend. "You are one of my closest friends Martin… I can't stand someone upsetting you like that."

"D-Douglas…"

Martin's attempt at speech fading into nothing as Douglas lifted a sleeve to wipe away the tears staining Martin's face.

"Come on Captain… We have a plane to fly." He said with a smile.

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**Hope you liked it guys!**

**The second chapter is for Marlas fans only xx Bit of a bonus chapter. :) **


	2. Bonus Marlas Chapter

**AN: Here's the bonus chapter. Like I said, Marlas fans only. It's not heavy on it, but it is still Marlas xxx (It was sp difficult to keep the last chapter neutral, you have NO idea)**

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**Bonus Chapter**

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As they walked back to GERT-I, Douglas did not let go of Martin. If it changed position, it would only be to move from holding Martin's hand, to resting on his shoulder, or around his waist. It felt like if he let go, Martin could crumble. And perhaps he could too. He needed Martin, he knew that. He didn't deny it. However, he didn't voice it, and he usually hid it.

Today he couldn't hide it. It was impossible to hide how important Martin was to him, when the young man had suffered such a bombardment of hate and horror. He wanted Martin to know he was wanted… Needed.

They sat in the flight deck in silence for well over half an hour, the only communication between them being the pre and post take-off checks. Martin was quiet, numb now from the overdose of emotion. Douglas was quiet; he didn't know what to say.

When they had been in the air for about ten minutes, Martin finally turned to Douglas, a small frown on his face. Douglas saw him out of the corner of his eye. When Martin said nothing, Douglas turned to him sharply.

"What is it. Martin? You obviously have something on your mind." It must have come out harsher than he had intended, because Martin flinched. "Sorry…"

Martin looked down.

"I was just… w-wondering… Why did you… Defend me?"

"What?"

"When Gordon…"

"Martin, we've been through this. I didn't like that he was upsetting you." Douglas said, a little annoyed. He turned back to the console.

"But… You've never cared before."

That made him stop. His eyes widened, and he turned back to stare at Martin.

"What?"

"You've never cared if I was upset before…"

"It's never been that serious, Martin."

"Yes it has. I just…"

Martin paused, a blush creeping its way into his cheeks. Douglas just waited for him to finish.

"I just hid it better." He finally said. Douglas felt his heart shatter at those words. The fact he had never noticed how upset Martin had been made him hang his head in shame.

"Martin… I- I didn't know." Was all he could say in apology.

"It's okay."

"You know, you can talk to me. If you ever need someone… Someone to talk to, a shoulder to cry on. Anything. You can come to me." Douglas said softly, pouring his feelings into the words. Feelings he had held back for a long, long time. So long that even if he wanted to, he could not stop them overflowing. Martin finally looked up at him, a hope lighting up his eyes brighter than Douglas had ever seen them. Had he never had a friend?

"R-really Douglas?" he stuttered.

"Of course. I lo-… Well we're friends, right?" Douglas said, with a smile. He hoped he'd smoothed that one over well enough that Martin wouldn't see through it.

"Well… Yes… I guess."

"You guess?"

"Well, I always thought you saw me as a bit of a nuisance, not a friend…" Martin muttered, looking away again.

Douglas' heart nearly stopped. Was he really that mean to Martin?

"Y-you do know I never mean what I say when I'm cruel? Right? I'm only joking…"

"I…"

"Oh Martin, is your self-confidence really that low?"

All Martin could do in response was nod.

"Oh god. I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you, Martin. I do care about you, you know…"

"Huh?"

_Shit… Too much!_

"You know what I m-mean…" he looked away. He could feel the blush rising in his cheeks. He knew it would give him away. Curse natural reactions!

"Douglas…? What's wrong?"

"Oh that's ironic…" he muttered.

"Hm? What's ironic?" _He has super-sonic hearing! I practically though that!_

"Just that now you're asking _me_ what is wrong…"

"Oh."

A moment of silence rang between them. Douglas could feel the tension in the air, as Martin fiddled with his hat, hands, the cuffs of his sleeves… Anything to keep his fingers busy and his mind relatively distracted.

"Douglas." Martin suddenly said, although if it hadn't been completely silent Douglas would never have heard him…

"Yes?" he whispered in reply.

"Thank you."

"What?" he turned to look at Martin.

"For… standing up for me, and- and for being there for me… I really do appreciate it. I never thought you'd actually…" a pause. "Care."

"Of course I care, Martin."

Douglas could see quite plainly that Martin wanted to say something else, but he wouldn't push him now. He had pushed him before, and made it worse. So he waited patiently, he even turned to the front again.

After what felt like an age of silence (it was only two minutes) Martin took a deep breath.

"How much…?" he squeaked, so quiet it nearly ghosted past Douglas' ear.

"How… much?" he didn't turn around this time. "What do you mean, Martin?" he had a pretty damn good idea what he meant, and his heartrate wasn't doing well for it. It felt like a Samba band had invaded his chest, and it made him feel sick.

"Y-yes…"

_Come on Richardson. It's now or never. Just tell him. But if he doesn't feel the same what will you do? I'll just… I'll let him go. But can you? Oh god, I don't know! Can you really face the pain of rejection? You've never cared too much about it, but if he rejects you… I know I know, I'll be broken… Then you can't tell him. But can I keep hiding it? Live in regret? You may have to. Surely the pain is worth it to at least KNOW… Is it? Yes. I have to tell him._

"Quite a lot…"

"That's not greatly… specific." Martin had a lump in his throat, Douglas could hear it, could hear it clogging Martin's airways. Suddenly, they saw the airport on the horizon. "I- We'll talk about this later… Wait after we've landed, okay?"

"Of course… Sir." Douglas replied.

When they had at last landed, Douglas was wound up tighter than a spring. The whole landing process had been full of inner arguments and contradictions, and he had a small headache thanks to them.

Martin was similarly tense. It was clear he regretted saying anything, but he knew he can to follow through now.

Once the paper-work was filed, Martin left the porta-cabin to see Douglas waiting by his van.

"Douglas." He acknowledged.

"Martin."

The awkwardness was back with a vengeance.

"So… how specific did you want me to be?" Douglas had re-gained his composure, placing his usual mask of calmness back over his face. His words were harsher, but right now that didn't matter.

"Well… So I understand." Martin muttered.

"That's not greatly specific either, _Sir_. However, I will try." His conviction wavered for a moment, before he gently but firmly took Martin by the wrist, pulling him forward and crashing their lips together. The moment seemed to last forever, as time slowed. _No going back now… I know. Well, are you pleased? You've probably ruined your friendship just after he actually acknowledged it. I don't care. Now I'll know. So be it…_

When they broke apart, both were flushed, although Martin now matched his hair, while Douglas was a very light shade of pink…

"W-what was… that?" Martin stammered.

"Me. Showing you how much I care… And now, I shall take my leave." Douglas said, pushing off the van, and beginning to walk away.

"What… Wait!" Martin cried, grabbing Douglas' wrist. Douglas turned to look at him. "You can't just… leave that hanging there!"

"Really? What do you want me to do then?" Douglas snapped. "Sorry I…"

"Do it again…?" Martin whispered. This time, Douglas didn't hear.

"What did you say?"

"You could… do it again…" Martin said, a little louder. Douglas' eyes widened.

"Really?"

Martin nodded.

Douglas bent down and this time pressed his lips very gently to Martin's lips. Martin responded eagerly, and soon Douglas felt confident enough to run his tongue along Martin's bottom lip, asking permission. Martin's lips parted slightly in answer, and their tongues began to dance.

Each of them wrapped his arms around the other, pulling close together. Their flight-bags fell deftly to the ground, completely forgotten, as they spoke their love for each other without words.

"BRILLIANT!" came a sudden cry, and they broke apart suddenly to see Arthur staring at them, beaming ear to ear. Carolyn had her eyes closed, as though she was praying.

"Come on Arthur… Let's leave these two alone…" she muttered, embarrassed and annoyed. Douglas and Martin, meanwhile, exchanged a sheepish look.

"Come to mine?" Douglas asked. "We can continue in private…"

Martin just nodded.

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**And there you have it :3 If anyone has any ideas they want turning into fanfics, please do PM me I'll be happy to take requests :) x**


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